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Troy Coulterman sculpts weird and wonderful figures in bizarre circumstances. His use of unnatural, vibrant colors interrupts his already unusual sculptures, giving them an added edge. Graphic novels and comic book artists are the inspiration behind his exaggerated characters in his work, as if these vivacious and animated characters have jumped right off the comic book page and into reality. Receiving his Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture, Coulterman uses his skill to from his figures out of resin, often placing them in a realm with swirling clouds and dripping hair. Coulterman explains the meaning behind his highly stylized work.

“These abstract, absurd forms that interact with the figurative pieces, they’re in a way visual metaphors to describe the psyche of the figures, the emotional moments in the figures.”

Although some of his figures have geometric faces replacing what would be normal human features, most of his work has an element of abnormal organic matter spewing from eyes or engulfing the figure. These organic forms appear somewhat disturbing but ultimately beautiful with their striking colors and detail. Another aspect of Coulterman’s work that is impossible to ignore is each unique and dramatic facial expression his figures possess. Each expression the artist sculpts creates an unmistakable mood in his artwork. Originally from Ontario, Canada, Coulterman has exhibited all over the world and has been included in many different art publications. He is currently represented by Slate Gallery in Regina, SK, Canada.

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Cinta Vidal Agulló‘s paintings depict a topsy turvy yet mundane world. There’s a dream-like quality to her work, like Alice falling down the rabbit hole and remarking on the various jars of marmalade. With a background in painting backdrops for the theater, Agullo excels and creating immersive worlds that, though they have an M.C. Escher-esque sense of physics, seem like they are a part of real life.

“With these un-gravity constructions, I want to show that we live in one world, but we live in it in very different ways – playing with everyday objects and spaces, placed in impossible ways to express that many times, the inner dimension of each one of us does not match the mental structures of those around us. The architectural spaces and day-to-day objects are part of a metaphor of how difficult it is to fit everything that shapes our daily space: our relationships, work, ambitions, and dreams.”

Agullo’s paintings are lushly illustrated like one of Graeme Base’s children’s books, almost playful in the way they explore the spatial and emotional connections between the tiny figures that inhabit them. Though they are definitely surreal, we’re invited to imagine how the different parts of each painting might fit together, like the puzzle pieces of our everyday lives.

What are the relationships between the people in her paintings? We can’t tell for certain, but it’s clear that the orbit around each other or, at the very least, they are neighbors in the same world — if not the same reality. (via Hi-Fructose)

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In a project called Brand by Hand, New Zealand-based designer Sara Marshall transforms sterile, corporate logos into something that’s warm and personal. Using a variety of scripted and hand-lettered type, she reinvents these logos and the feelings they project.

A current trend in branding leans towards flat and minimalist, but here, Marshall’s flourishes and textures are applied to YouTube, Coca-Cola, Skype, Subway, and more. She keeps the colors the same between old and new, but other than that, they’re very different. Burger King, for instance, oozes bespoke and twee. Skype’s scripted font emphasizes human connection with a more familiar, friendly feel. (Via designboom)

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San Fransisco based chemist/artist Klari Reis hand paints a plexiglass petri dish every day in her latest project A Daily Dish. But it is not just superficial, decorative painting, Reis fills the actual form with different layers of epoxy polymers pigmented with oils, acrylics, powders, and dyes. Manipulating the transparency, opacity, color intensity, size and forms of the different elements, she produces mini abstract ‘paintings’. They are colorful, playful and optimistic-looking examples of how beautifully science and art can exist as one and the same.

And she doesn’t only make paintings within the individual dishes, but she also arranges her creations into impressive large scale wall installations. Using the color of the dishes to dictate her layout, Reis’ petri dish installations are a subtle and poetic reminder of how aesthetically pleasing the elements can be. Living next to many life science companies in San Fransisco, she allows this to benefit her work.

[She] takes advantage of this proximity to collaborate with local biomedical companies and thus receives inspiration from the cutting edge of biological techniques and discoveries; this context grounds her artwork and lets her authoritatively explore the increasingly fuzzy line between the technological and the natural. (Source)

Reis has created so many different petri dish paintings, make sure you check out all of them on her website, complete with amusing titles such as Companion Planting, Birthday Surprise, Interconnected Planetary March, Backstroke Drills and Emotion Explosion. Not only do they sound like the names of paint samples, but also a wonderfully experimental high school science experiment.

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Unbelievably, the stunning and incredibly realistic works of artist Robin Eley are not photographs, but meticulously created paintings! The artist uses oil paint to render hyper-real portraits with fragmented hues and picturesque, nude figures. Each figure looks so photorealistic, it is hard to believe that it is a painting. Every last element is executed perfectly, as you can even see every detail in the tattoos on the figures. As if painting realistic nudes with this high level of skill was not impressive enough, Eley displays his figures through fractals of color, as if they are behind stained glass. The geometric shapes cutting through the composition offer us a stark juxtaposition to the organic, soft bodies that are behind them. This sharp pattern dissects the human body into segments so that we may see it in a different light.

Eley not only paints his figures behind brightly colored, intersecting shapes, but also wrapped in materials like plastic. This highly textural element also gives an interesting contrast to the bare skin of the figures. The crinkles and creases in the plastic create a sort of fractured impression, just like Eley’s pieces with the “stained glass.” Originally from Australia, this L.A-based artist has had his work exhibited internationally and also has work in private collections all over the world. If you have the chance to see Eley’s prolific work in person, make sure to take advantage of it and experience every tiny detail of these hyper-real paintings.

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Jeremy Floto and Cassandra Warner of New York-based photography studio Floto+Warner have created a fascinating series of photographs of colored liquids thrown into open landscapes. Titled “Colourant,” the series emerges out of the artists’ ongoing interest in vast environments, as well as the relationships between place, figure, and form. The images feature colored, environmentally-friendly water mixtures floating in the air like alien clouds or frozen waves. There is a palpable tension between motion and stillness, created by the clash between the rapid event and the peaceful backdrop of the Nevada desert. Incredibly, no Photoshop was used in the creation of this series. In a statement provided to Beautiful/Decay, Floto and Warner shared their method:

“We shoot with a high-speed shutter to freeze the action of the throw. Typically, our shutter was around 3200th of a second. Each photograph is set in the open landscape. We don’t stick to the rules of traditional landscape photography in this series. We choose instead to shoot under the harsh midday sun to amplify the adverse feeling of the scene. We use hard lighting and prefer atmospheric space to allow the sculptures space to breathe. For the preparation, we mix a small amount of non-toxic color by hand with a gallon of water and then literally throw it into the air.”

With their bright colors and dramatic forms, the “Colourant” images do an excellent job seizing our curiosity and attention. Floto and Warner call them “floating sculptural events,” or “short-lived anomalies that pass you by at an imperceptible flash.” Not only do they visually defy categories of “liquid” and “solid” matter, but they trouble the line between transience and eternity; captured by the camera, the airborne splashes seem as though they could exist forever, embedded in the landscape. “Colourant” also unveils our perceptual limitations, as such chaotic and beautiful forms cannot be seen without the intervention of technology; just as we cannot fully perceive the fleeting details of waves crashing onto the shore, Floto+Warner’s series remind us that there is more to nature and reality than meets the eye.

As exploratory images, “Colourant” will likely foster a variety of inspiring (and potentially conflicting) interpretations. When asked about how they viewed the series, Floto and Warner explained:

“We see this series as representing a clash between man and nature, [as] giant blobs taking over and obstructing the landscape. That said, we also feel they are quite ambiguous and let people enjoy them as if looking at clouds. Typically, when people see them, they react with a moment of joy, elation, or wonder (which we are happy with), but then there are a lot of people that see the stain. We love the duality of the image.”

Check out Floto+Warner’s website to see more of their works, including “Fume” (2009), the thematic precursor to “Colourant.” Be sure to follow their work and see what creative explorations of various landscapes they dream up next. (Via Honestly WTF)

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Mike Frederiqo is a 23-year-old Dutch illustrator with a healthy dose of talent and humor. You may have seen his other works circulating the internet, including his combinations of BAPE’s fashion logo with Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cans, or his images of Sponge Bob as Coco Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld, Terry Richardson, and more. In his more recent series, he has taken his illustrative interpretations of the fashion world a bit further, utilizing the bodies and faces of high fashion icons and their collaborators to recreate famous logos. Among the images you’ll see Lagerfeld and choice model Cara Delevingne completing exaggerated backbends with elongated arms and legs to form Coco Chanel’s interlocking Cs; elsewhere, editor-in-chief Anna Wintour twists into the name “Vogue” (while holding what appears to be a Starbucks coffee). In an interview with Life and Times, Frederiqo explained his inspiration for the series:

“You see so many illustrators taking those famous logos and making fun of them — almost in a negative way. So, I wanted to do something in a positive way with the logos that were recognizable. And what is more recognizable than the Coco Chanel logo?” (Source)

Based in good humor and playfulness, Frederiqo’s stylish logo recreations have a way of grabbing our attention and making us laugh. Logos are a vital part of a brand’s identity, representing their international, high-ranking status and presence. Frederiqo’s illustrations remind us of the real human beings behind these labels; we recognize the logos (and the significance of their names in the fashion world), but when given faces, they become lighthearted, tangible, and funny. Frederiqo’s works poke fun while also nodding in homage.

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With the precision of an expert glass cutter Myriam Dion snips into the front pages of newspapers to produce an alternative look into current events. Her sharp tools create striking portals of light flickering through pieces of paper which have been crafted to produce a stained glass window or lacey embroidered effect. The dizzying number of cuts are similar to the marks a painter uses to create canvas.The negative space created from Dion’s labor enhances the grainy newsprint which turns more impressive when the paper’s color photographs are used. These resemble light and airy woodblock prints giving it an arts and crafts sensibility.

Dion has made several installations including a project which covered the windows of a government building in Montreal. It referenced the slatted arches seen in gothic style architecture commonly used in old churches each page filling the space with expertly cut and designed sheets. In another a waterfall effect of color newsprint photographs set in a line razored to resemble punctured curtains become a more conceptually minded piece when the paper’s residue is left behind.

Dion is a Canadian artist currently attending the University of Quebec. She first began creating this unusual work in an attempt to reinterpret the state of print journalism. (via honestlywtf)